Steam-heating system for railway-cars.



Y PATBNTBD APR. 23. 1907.

E. E. GOLD.

STEAM HEATING SYSTEM IOR RAILWAY CARS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 20,1904.

UNITED STATES 'PATENT oEEIcE.

EDWARD E. eoLD,` EEW YORK, .N. Y.

STEAM-HEATING. lSYSTEM Fon RAILWAY-GARS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April-23, 1907.

Application tiled June 20,1904. Serial No. 213,428.

To va/L whom, t may concer t:

Be it known thatI, EDWARD E. Goin), a

' citizen of the United States, residing inthe main or train pipe to the radiating-pipes car-..

lpasses through the valve.

riedin the c ar.

By means of this invention the quantity of steam admitted to a car is automatically controlled preferably by the live steam in or adjacent to the train-pipe, or at least before it is passed through the radiators, and thus the overheating of the cars is avoided and the unequal distribution of steam gradually diminishing from `the front to the rear car of a longtrain, which has been a very serious matter in previous systems, is avoided or con-l siderably mitigate According to this invention a valve con- Itrolling the suplply of steam to the system of piping within t e car is controlled by a thermostat, which is exposed preferably to the live steam immediately after the steam The expansive element of the thermostat is preferably exposed on the one side to the atmosphere within the car .and on the other side to the steam. Preferably, also,the valve is under hand control, so that it may be opened or closed by hand'and so that also the pressure of steam admitted to the car may be regu.- lated and the pressure in `the trainipe maintained to the very end of evenv a ong train.

Various other improvements to in detail hereinafter.

.The accompanying drawings illustrate certain embodiments ofthe invention.v Y

-Figure lis a diagrammatic view of the piping for a single car. Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the piping through which the steam passes from the train-pipe to the car. Fig. 3 is a similar view of a slightly different form are referred of the invention.

y Referring to the embodiment illustrated, the usual train-pipe A extends under the entire length of each car, the several sections .being united by sections of iiexible pipe in the'usual manner and the front end being connected with the locomotive boiler by means of the usual pressure-reducingvalve.

A A system of pipingB within the car tyfpies any suitable heating system either by irect orindirect radiation or otherwise.

lating therethrough is drained off by a trap Steam is ll) beneath the car, the steam assing to the 'trap through a pipe E and se iment-well F.

The usual trainpipe valve G may be employed to close t e train-pipe at one side or the other of the pipe C When 'the car is at the rear of a train, or valvesmay bel employed one at each end ofthe car for the same pur# pose, as is Well understood by thoseskilled in the art.

The passage of steam through the pipe C into the radiating-pipes B is subject to 'control by hand or by a 'thermostatlc device at will. The hand-valve and thermostatic device may be combined in one structure, as in Figj3, or, as in the preferred form of Figs. Y1 and 2, a simplehand-valve H may be rovided separately from the thermostatic evice J. The hand-valve H is preferably in advance of the thermostatic valve to permit cutting off the steam therefrom. It may be, for example an angle-valve connecting the vertical section of pipe C with a horizontal sectlon C', the thermostatic device J being inter-- posed between' the sections C and C of the horizontal pipe and provided also with a ver-` tical. stem. The hand-valve H will ordina'- rily lbe Wide open when the car is being heat` The valve K willY then be opened or to admit steamv as deed. closed automatically sired.

-Any suitable thermostatic device in which the expansive member is exposed to the live having direct connectionl with the valve'-4 spindle and With.the exit side of the valve.

the expansive member O., consisting of a thin IOO .105 Upon the upper side of the diaphragm M is sheet-metal vessel attached to the diaphragm e M and .containing liquid of any desired boiling-point. An upper casing P 1s connected to the lower casing N of the thermostat by means of iianges Q, bolted together and empliragm- M. lThe expansive member O and stem L arepressed down, preferably through an mterposed strong spring R, by means of an adjusting-screw S, screwing through the upper easing P and provided with an upper square end or a handle or other suitable means for turning it. A set-nut l lxes the shaft S in the desired position of adjustment, The casing P on the upper side of the diaphragm is apertured, as at U, so as to expose theupper part of the expansive device to the temperature of the surrounding atmosphere, preferably the temperature. within tlel car, While the under side thereof is exposeu to the steam within the lower casing N. A light s ring V is preferably provided in the casing tending to open the valve li.

The compression of the spring R having been, regulated to a desired extent by the serewfsliaft S, steam in. the pipe C, beingof a higher pressure, opens the valve li and passes into the radiating-pipes within the car. ln

very cold weather t vie steam in the radiating-- pipes eondenses and runs oil' rapidly, so that the temperatureapplied to the under side of the ex ansive member O is not very great,

the co0 ness ofthe atmosphere in the caracting in the same way to retain the liquid in the expansive member below its boiling-point. As soon as the atmosphere within the car becomes heated, however, the current of steam through the pipes is slower and the steampressure therein greater, and the heat applied not only to the under side. but to the upper side of the expansive member gradually increases until the liquid therein is vaporized and the member extended sufficiently to shut thevalve K. Thevalve remains shut until the falling pressure in the radiating-pipes and in the ex ansive member O permits the pressure in t 1e pi e C assisted by the spring V, to open the va ve again. By suitably adj usting the pressure of the closing-spring lt the temperature of the car may be very accurately controlled. Furthermore, the expansive member in conjunction with the spring R Will act to closethe valve before the y ressure in the radiating system reaches that 1n the train-pipe. The difference in pressure between the train-pipe and the radiatingpipe in the ear will,be equal approximately to the pressure exerted by the closing-spring Rand as soon as expansion takes place by the expansive member O, the spring V, being of practically inconsiderable strength as compared with 1the s ring R. The pressure in the train-pi e is aways greatest infthe front cars and t lminishes gradually, de )ending upon the length of the train, the weather, and other matters. .[n long trains in severe weather the pressure is apt to fall so rapidly inthe train-pipe that the rear ears cannot get sirtlicient steam to keep them heated. By

suitablyadjusting the pressure of theI springs 'i -bracing between them the edge of the dial R in the several cars of a tram, making this pressure gradually less from the front to the rear, the pressure of steani in the train-pipe is eomerved so that at the rear end there is sufficient pressure for warming the cars.

'lhe functions of a hand-valve and an automatic valve may be combined'in one, as indicated at J', Fig. 3. llere it is the stem of the angle-valve ll which is extended upward and connected with the expansive member as in, Fig. 2. 'lhe screw-shaft S iu this case is provided with a hand-wheel and. the setnut for the shaft. is preferably omitted. lt will be clear that by compressing the spring li until its convolutions close against each other any 'further movementof the shaft S will close the valve positively. Upon sulliciently unscrewing theshaft S. the valve will be automatically lifted either by the pressure of steam .in the pipe C or, if that be lacking, by the light spring V. Screens X may be provided for preventing dirt or other obstructions vfrom entering the valves.

' Though l have described with great partlcularlty ot detail certain specific embodi-v 4exposed also to the atmosphere.

2. ln a sti-iani-heating system for a rail- Way-car, a thereiostatically-controllerl admission-valve comprising a valve proper opening with the pressure, and an expansive device exposed to the live steam immediately at the discharge side of the valve and exposed also to the atmos ihere, said expansive device arranged to c ose said valve by its expansion.

3. ln a stimuli-heating system for a railway-ear, a therniostatimilly-cootrolled admission-valve comprising a valve. proper opening with the pressure, an expansive devlce exposed to the live steam immediately at the discharge side of the valve and exposed also to the atmosphere, said expansive dev vice arranged to close said valve by its expansion,v and a spring tending to open said valve..v Y

4. ln a steam-limiting system for a railway-car, a Vtlierniostatically-e introlled admission-Valve. comprising a valve proper, a diaphragm M, and an expansive device cal'- ried upon and attached to the outer sidi` of said diaphragm and exposed on its outer side lOO to the atmosphere, the inner side of said dia-l phragm being exposed to the steam.

5. In a steam-heating system for a railway-ear, a train-pipe, a heater within the car, a thermostatically-controlled admissionvalve comprising a valve proper between said train-pipe .and sa'id heater, and an expansive device arranged to close said valve by its expansion and exposed to the heat of the live steam immediately upon the discharge side of the valve, a spring bearing upon said expansive device and through it upon said valve in a direction to close the same, and an adjustable device bearing upon said spring to l compress the same and adapted to compress the spring to its limit and'to move further to positively close the valve.

6. In a steam-heating system fora railway-car, a train-pipe A, a heater B within the car, a thermostatically-oontrolled' admission-valve J between said train-pipe and said heater and comprisin a valve proper 4K opening in the direction o the pressure, and

a thermostat connected to the stem of said valve to close the same by its expansion and exposed to the heat of the live steam immediately u on the discharge side of said valve, a' sprin bearing upon said thermostat and throug it upon said valve in a direction to car including a train-pipe A, radiating-pipes B within the car, a trap at the exhaust end of said pipes normally closing them so as to maintain pressure therein, a valve proper K arranged in a branch between said train-pipe and said radiating-pipes, a exible diaphragm M connected to said valve proper and exposed on one face to the steam-pressure beyond the valve and in a direction to open the valve, and on the other face to the pressure of the atmosphere, and a heat-expansible member O exposed on one side to the heat of the steam and on the other side to the atmospherel and adapted when expanded to exert a pressure upon said diaphragm in a direction to close the valve.

In Witnesswhereof I have hereunto s ned, my name in the presence of two subscri witnesses.-

f EDWARD E. GOLD. Witnesses: e A

DOMINGO A. USINA, FRED WmTE 

